Divorce Solutions

Question #328

Hello, Not sure if you can offer any solution. My husband and I got married in India. It was an arranged marriage. At the time, he was a resident of NY, and I lived in India. Now both of us are US citizens. We have two children together, one is 23 years, and the other is 11 years. His parents lived with us. I underwent a lot of mental torture at the hands of my husband and his mother. It was only after the birth of my second child and some counseling that I realized I was being abused. I was a well-traveled, socially active person but, over time, became into a person with an inferiority complex. I used to be scared of going back home after work every evening, dreading who would pick a fight that day the husband or the mother. Even though I worked full time and made the maximum income in the house, the parents controlled both our incomes. They forced me to deposit the money in a joint account, which had his father as the primary account holder. The husband never backed me up and insisted that I follow their rule. Any monetary gift, material gift that was given to me by any friends or family his and mine were taken away by his mother, and he was ok with that. He was a heavy gambler, and I have been under the burden of his gambling debts. He has even been caught stealing at places of work and continuously lost his job. Due to this, the parents made me feel that I would never be able to make it in this country as a single parent and continuously refused to let me leave. The family took money from me for their business, but until today I have not seen a penny in return, my mother kept saying that I should not worry and she would support my children and me and was taking my salary so she could save for our future. Of course, until today, I had not seen any of that monetary support, even when she knew I had no job for almost a year and was struggling to put one child through college. I have been supporting my two children all their life. When my children were born, neither the husband nor the parents were present. During my 1st child, I was alone, and during the 2nd child, my 1st born was with me in the hospital. My OB/GYN doc did not see the father even once when I was pregnant the 2nd time round. However, my children are both very happy after I have moved out. There is a property that was bought during the period when we lived together, but his parents forced me to put their name on the property as co-owners. His name is not on the property. He and his parents still live there. We both still reside in NYC. My two children live with me. There is a property that was bought during the period when we lived together, but his parents forced me to put their name on the property as co-owners. His name is not on the property. He and his parents still live there, and I want to ensure that my children get their rightful share of the property. When we were together, we had nothing together. Not even a bank account. If I wanted to file for a divorce in the country of marriage, can I do that, and will that divorce be valid in NY State? If it would get accepted, will I be able to get at least 50% of the property if I file a case against them in NY state after the divorce? 

You appear to have significant property rights in the properties on which you are named as co-owner. You also must file for divorce where you are living, not where you got married.
If you are living in the NYC metro area, please contact me at 212-370-1660 to arrange for a meeting to review your situation in detail.
Leonard Weiner, Esq.
Divorce Solutions
212-370-1660